1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to a fluid pump cooling heating elements composing electric apparatus and personal computers.
2. Description of the Related Art
Japanese patent publications, JP-A-2001-123978 and JP-A-2001-132677, disclose conventional fluid pumps, for example. Each disclosed fluid pump comprises a casing having a pump chamber therein, an inlet and an outlet both formed in the casing, a disc-like impeller rotatably provided in the pump chamber and having pump grooves through which a liquid in the pump chamber is supplied to a peripheral interior of the pump chamber. Upon rotation of the impeller, the liquid is sucked through the inlet into the pump chamber by the action of the pump grooves and the liquid in the pump chamber is discharged from the outlet by the action of the pump grooves.
When the foregoing fluid pump is used to cool a heating element of an electric apparatus, for example, the fluid pump and the heating element are disposed so that one side of the pump casing is brought into contact with the heating element. In this construction, heat generated by the heating element is absorbed via the casing into the liquid flowing in the pump chamber.
In the above-described fluid pump, however, the pump chamber is located generally in the center of the casing, and an axis of rotation of the impeller corresponds substantially with the center of the casing. Accordingly, the liquid passage located in the outer periphery of the impeller corresponds to the periphery of the casing. When the heating element is mounted substantially on the center of the side of the casing, the fluid passage in the pump chamber is located on the periphery of the heating element. Consequently, the heating element cannot be cooled efficiently.